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Mammals in and around Alphington's lanes

Wildlife in Alphington

By Rowena Jay

Squirrel

Family: Sciuridae; Grey Squirrel (Sciurus carolinensis). Length: 26cm, tail 21cm.
The squirrel's winter coat is grey with yellowish brown mid-dorsal strips. In the Summer it has a reddish tinge especially on the sides. The tail has lighter coloured fringes and there are no ear tufts. Squirrels are common in gardens, parks and woodlands. They can eat the bark off trees but mainly they eat nuts, especially acorns, a wide range of roots, bulbs, some insects, eggs and small birds. Squirrels do not hibernate.

Rabbits Order Lagomorpha

Family: Leporidae; Rabbit (Oryctolagus cuniculus). Length: 40cm.
Wild rabbits are brown to sandy in colour and in some areas black is a common colouration. They have a white underside to their tail, which is visible when they are running away. They are seen on grassland, scrubby areas, sundunes, heathland, hedgerows and open woodland. They live in colonies in underground warrens. They are mainly active at night and eat mainly grass but also cereal crops, roots and young trees. They give birth to naked blind young.

Western Hedgehog

Family: Erinaceidae; Hedgehog (Erinaceus europaeus) Length: 18-27cm, their tail 2-3cm.
The spines of a hedgehog are modified hairs, their face, underside and limbs are covered with soft hair. They eat slugs, worms, a wide range of insects, fallen fruit and fungi; they are very noisy when they are foraging. They are almost entirely nocturnal and sleep by day in dead leaves and in the bottom of hedges. Even though they hibernate between October and April they can be active well into the Winter. The hedgehog climbs and swims well but provide a ramp in your gardens ponds so that the hedgehog can climb out otherwise he will drown. It is an old wives' tale to feed hedgehogs bread and milk, this does, in fact, upset their stomachs, so only feed cat food to them.

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